Jackpot

53

“They’re going to get her killed,” Millie said on the other end of the line as Teddy waited for the elevator. He’d been on his way to meet with the festival organizers when he’d picked up the phone to find Millie in a panic.

“I know you see it that way, and I understand that,” Teddy said, “because your job is to protect her. But I also know that the testimony being called off is likely going to send Li Feng further off the deep end in her manic vendetta against Sonny Ma.”

“So what do we do? I can’t let her stay with Arrow, but you’re right — if I get her away from him, she’s not going to just go away quietly.”

“I’m on my way down to talk to Sonny Ma and the festival organizers right now. I’m still here to make sure that whoever tried to ruin Peter and Ben’s reputations gets what’s coming to them. And right now, that looks like Li Feng.”

“Arrow is moving her to his second-phase secure location, likely in Hong Kong where she was going to testify. I think he wants to get her out of the prying eyes of Macau. He’s not as powerful over in Hong Kong, though, and I have contacts who can give me an idea of where he’d stash her. I’m going to see if I can convince her to get out of town before Arrow gets to her and maybe show her that her own life is more important than whatever need for revenge she has against a man.”

Teddy sighed and wished once again he could get back to L.A., sit quietly on the beach, and stare at budgets and casting memos and insurance riders, all of the mundane behind-the-scene details producers dealt with every day that he had taken for granted. But he stood outside the door of the suite thinking about what Millie said, and thinking about his own endgame.

All signs suggested Li Feng was behind the fake videos and blackmail of Peter and Ben as part of her larger play against Sonny Ma. Peter and Ben just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But he also knew that Li Feng had been harboring a grudge against Sonny Ma for decades, and it was only Arrow Donaldson who had been dumb enough or selfish enough to give her the resources to enact her revenge. And it was Arrow’s men who had made the actual videos. Without Arrow’s scheme to have Li Feng testify in the first place, none of this would ever have happened.

Teddy reached the door to the conference room housing the film festival organizers, and walked in. When all eyes turned to him, he said, “I think we should call the whole thing off.”

Sonny Ma nodded as Teddy spoke.

“I was thinking the same thing. I have no desire for fame. I only agreed to this film because I thought it would lend legitimacy to the expansion of my business into casino technology. But it’s done the opposite.”

“It sounds like we’re in agreement then,” Teddy said.

The others in the room didn’t look like they were in agreement on anything. They murmured and sighed and grumbled and finally one of them said, “Canceling isn’t really an option. We would lose all of our money, and the film business in Macau would be even more tainted than it is now. We would never recover.”

Unfortunately, Teddy knew they were right. And the festival had partnered with Centurion, and with Peter and Ben. He couldn’t walk away and leave them in such dire straits.

He paced across the room, then back, thinking.

“Then maybe we should be the ones to kill Sonny Ma,” Teddy said.

A collective gasp rose up, and Teddy would have smiled if the situation weren’t so serious. Only Sonny Ma himself was oddly tranquil, seeing where Teddy was going.

“I don’t believe our American friend is suggesting an actual murder,” Sonny Ma said, looking toward Teddy. “I hope. I believe he is suggesting we do what we all do best: play make-believe.”

“We can stage a publicity stunt, a fake assassination, playing off Sonny Ma’s reputation. After it’s revealed that he wasn’t really killed, he can talk about how the thought of being murdered was always at the back of his mind when he was involved with crime, and that’s why he’s determined to continue going legitimate.”

The spokesman for the organizers looked back to the group, who seemed to be recovering from their shock.

“Much is at stake,” the young man in the yellow suit said. “This is not just fun and entertainment. This is the image of the party. The image of China is at stake.”

Teddy nodded and resisted the urge to stroke the sides of his head in contemplation. They were right again, and as an outsider, Teddy was never going to be able to answer those concerns. But he knew who could help.

“Let me discuss this with Dale Gai. We’ll return when we have fully formulated a plan.”

“Yes. Dale Gai. Good. This is good.”

Sonny Ma didn’t seem as confident, so Teddy waved him over to a private corner of the room.

“I realize this is not ideal for you,” Teddy said, “but it’s the one chance we have of taking care of a number of problems all at once. Li Feng will not go away and provide the U.S. government the evidence it needs to convict Arrow Donaldson until she sees you dead. With Li Feng gone, and Arrow Donaldson back in the U.S. facing criminal charges, your path to success with your online casino empire will be free and clear.”

“Arrow’s operation has been a frustrating irritant to my business.”

“I’ll control as much of this as I can. I’ll fit you with a protective vest padded with blood squibs that I’ll explode by remote. I will direct Li Feng’s effort to find a hitman toward me in disguise so that we don’t risk someone else trying to kill you.”

“I had no idea of the level of Li Feng’s hatred of me until she came to my mother’s house yesterday and went mad.”

“Wait, Li Feng came to visit you? Was she with Arrow Donaldson?”

“She was alone.”

Teddy processed that new information.

“Dale Gai and I will protect you, and at the end of this you’ll be set up well for success. And I’ll have all the pieces in place to punish those who smeared the good name of my friends.”

Teddy left Sonny to find Dale. On the way he called Millie Martindale.

“Li Feng escaped from Arrow somehow, and visited Sonny Ma.”

Teddy heard a muffled string of curse words and then, “Thank you,” before Millie quickly hung up.